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Wednesday, September 29, 2010

After having a wonderful 7am to 5pm shift at work, I figured I needed a bit of a break. So, after running a few errands we decided on some dinner. Actually, we decided on some beer, but food would have been a welcome addition.

Hence...we wound up at Fat Heads.

Fat Heads in Cleveland sits in an old storefront in North Olmsted, Ohio. It used to be Danny Boys, an absolutely fantastic farm market until the local mega-grocery stores killed such local businesses. The building was turned into a micro-brewery/restaurant a couple of years ago and it's become quite a success story on the west side.

If you go to Fat Heads, you have to realize a few things:

They're a micro-brewery, so expect some great (or at least interesting) hand-crafted beers

They sell other beers, but don't expect to see Bud Light being offered

If you plan on eating, be prepared to eat a lot or take a doggie bag home

Expect to like the food which is pretty darn good.

Smoked chicken wings

If you ever get there, you shouldmust absolutely have to try to smoked chicken wings. They are whole wings (not segmented) that have been smoked and coated with a seasoned dry rub. You can then get them in sauces from sweet to mild to fire-creating. I've had them about 6 times there, and every time they've been great: moist, meaty, complex in flavor, and just plain finger-licking good.

(BTW, the beer next to the wings is their blueberry beer (look closely: you can see the berries in the beer)...one of their "always available" brews).

We also had the French Onion soup (big thumbs up on this one, too) and the special soup of the day: corn, chicken and sausage chowder (again...yummy).

My meal was the bbq pulled pork sandwich (something I seem always inclined to get, regardless of what other offerings the menu may have).

Sandwich big...sandwich good!

The sandwich (like most of their sandwiches) was big...as in "BIG". The fresh potato chips it came with were...well...addictive.

I had a smoked porter with my dinner. It was smoky (in both smell and taste), deep and delicious. But I doubt I could drink more than 1 pint of it; it was good, but almost (I repeat: almost) overwhelming. I probably should have started with a lighter beer first.

Monday, September 27, 2010

While on my semi-regular bike ride this morning, I came across this rather interesting sign on someone's front lawn.

It doesn't take a poli-sci major to figure out the person who put up this sign is not a big Kucinich fan. But for those who don't know much about Dennis Kucinich, you can read up on him here and I'll let you decide how accurate this sign is.

Now, I'm going on record as stating that I am ecstatic that this sign is up...primarily because of what it represents: free speech. And if you can't espouse your political views on your front lawn, then this country is getting into serious trouble.

Thursday, September 23, 2010

While I was debating on the bike I was going to buy I spent some time walking around Wally World and wound up in the food aisle. Of course, the best way to celebrate getting a new bike and starting on your new-found path to fitness is to buy yourself some chocolate. And that's when I stumbled upon Chuao.

Walmart had 3 different chocolate bars and the packaging looked impressive: a matte blue foil wrapper with silhouette cocoa pods. It said "try this chocolate" to me...so I did. But which one?

I settled on the oddest one I could find: Firecracker.

As you can tell by the name, it's got something do to with pepper. And so it does. "Dark chocolate bar with chipotle, salt and popping candy".

Yeah...chocolate, salt and pepper and Pop Rocks (though not the official Pop Rocks). Sounded way too gimmicky...which of course meant that I had to try it.

First off, the bar is not scored in the traditional way; it's instead molded on the front with the same cocoa bean silhouettes as on the package, so breaking off "a square" ain't gonna happen, but you can a decent "square"

So, I broke off a piece. Already, I'm impressed. Cheaper chocolate sometimes bends, but this stuff breaks quickly and cleanly. Try remembering how your last Hershey bar bent in your hand and you'll probably get what I mean.

I popped the piece into my mouth. Again, impressive. Clean, smooth melt in your mouth chocolate (although there was a slight waxy feeling for literally the first 1/2 second, just before it started to melt). Not gritty...good (to use the proper term) "mouth feel".

The taste? I'm not a big fan of dark chocolate, but this stuff could get me hooked. Deep, very satisfying.

It doesn't take long for the pepper to kick in. Give it about 3 seconds before you start to feel a decent burn. It never reaches fire-extinguisher/clear-your-sinuses level, just enough to enhance the chocolate as well as give you the added taste of the peppers.

The salt? Never tasted it. It's like they forgot about it when they made the bar I got. I wanted to taste the salt, but the flavor just never got there as much as I wanted (or it was overwhelmed, but I doubt it).

The pop rocks? Just fun...nothing seriously being added here. If anything it perhaps enhanced the flavor of the pepper and chocolate from the CO2 aerating the chocolate in my mouth.

Th feeling afterward? No grit, no waxy build-up. Just a clean, tasty light cocoa feel in my mouth. A very slight pepper feel remained as well.

In all, this stuff is good. So I don't get why Walmart is selling it. But I have seen some more quality foodstuffs appear on their shelves, so maybe this is a decent sign.

Chuao makes different bars and you can see all they offer on their website. The coffee and anise one may be my next one to try.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Long before cable, and I mean LONG before cable, there was something called...."ON TV".

I grew up in Chicago and when a company called "ON TV" showed up, man, it was big news.

Imagine: new movies, specials, concerts and more brought directly to your TV with nothing but a piece of coax and a box on your TV set.

So it was cable...but not cable. You could either watch ON TV or your regular stations (you just had to flip a switch and change the station on your TV). And as far as I remember, you got ONE station on ON TV. So imagine buying cable today and all you had were your local stations and TBS...not so funny, is it?

But it was cable, since it pioneered coax in your home, and of course the big bucks it cost to get it installed plus the monthly fee.

I also remember the absolute nightmare if you also wanted to hook up a video game console to your TV. You'd get a migraine trying to keep track of all the jacks and wiring just so you could play Asteroids on your Zenith.

I remember it impressing just about everyone in my family, and it was impressive. We got to see all sorts of movies and special events that "the common folk" didn't get to see.

Here's a video of an ON TV commercial to see a Rolling Stones pre-taped concert (OK, on this point, I guess ON TV is like cable nowadays, commercials and all):

...and another for the "adults only" stuff....

The weird part about this is that the "Adults only" stuff they show has an "R" rating, but it seems a bit more X-like (at least the last few frames are...WOWSERS!!!) than I would have thought.

I don't remember how much it cost, but I am pretty sure it was maybe $20 a month, which in today's dollars would be about $51. And, remember, that was for ONE station. Today, you spend a bit more than that for hundreds of channels, high-speed internet and maybe even web-based phone service.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

At work (yes, I do actually do something other than blog all day!!) we usually play on our speaker system "Rock Show", which is mostly classic rock. I don't think it's because it's the most popular; I think it's because it's the least offensive (most people would rather hear "Concrete Beats", which is all rap, which is just to difficult for a lot of people to listen to all day).

But...oh, yeah...the point of this post.

I was talking to someone about the songs and I we talked about the lead singers. That got me thinking...

"I wonder how many bands had two lead singers?"

Hence...this post.

Following is my first pass at those bands that had two or more lead singers. Before we get to the list, some simple rules:

The band had to have the two lead singers in the group at the same time (so, sorry, Doobie Brothers...Michael McDonald came after Tom Johnston).

The two singers don't have to have equal billing, but they should both be considered "lead singers" (hence, the Rolling Stones are not on this list)

Obscure bands that typically don't get regular airplay (so, sorry Fugazi...I love you guys, but you can't be on this list; but I'll come up with one for you I swear).

hmm....I think that's it for the rules.

So here are the bands I can think of so far. They are in no particular order other than the order in which they come to mind:

The Beatles

The Band

The Moody Blues

Jefferson Airplane

America

Bread

The Who

Traveling Wilburys

Chicago

Traffic

B52's

CSN

CSN&Y

XTC (my personal fav)

Pink Floyd

The Cars

Grateful Dead (only because I have no rule that I have to like the group)

Tears For Fears

Styx

Journey (yes, there was a singer before/with Steve Perry, if only for a little while)

The Beach Boys

The Eagles (trifecta here!!)

Fleetwod Mac (another trifecta)

The Clash

Supertramp

Three Dog Night (added 9/26)

Alice In Chains (added 10/18)

Some bands that didn't make the cut (and why):

Genesis: Gabriel/Collins, so two lead singers, right? But Collins (I think) only did a song or two while Gabriel was really the lead singer. Collins came to the front after Gabriel's departure (and subsequently ruined Genesis...but again, fodder for another post).

Toto: Isolation perhaps had two lead singers, but there's plenty of fog surrounding who sang what. Besides, it was one album during a transition period...oh, and it's my list and I say they don't count.

The Rolling Stones: Sorry, but Mr. Richards can not (nor ever) be considered a "lead singer". Sorry.

New Order: For anyone who cares, "Movement" (brilliant and under-appreciated IMHO) featured just about the entire band singing "lead", but they eventually settled on one member.

The weather is starting to get a bit nippy. It's maybe low 60's outside right now but it feels quite a bit chillier. And we're expecting a low of about 49 degrees tonight.

So maybe that's why I've been drinking like a gajillion (or is that gazillion?) cups of hot tea today?

First of all, you need to understand that as an American, I don't "do tea"...I drink it like a frat boy drinks cheap beer.

For example, here's my "tea cup":

Dainty, ain't it?

It's a vintage mug from Frankoma Pottery. I have a lot of their pieces and I came across this piece for like $3 many, many moons ago. And I've been using it ever since.

As you can see, it holds approximately 87 gallons (or 89,950 liters if my math is correct). So a full cup should go a long way.

But...no...it doesn't.

I've been drinking a lot of tea today. But at least I have some interesting teas.

(please note: I am not a tea purist, and I don't have a lot of exposure to different unique teas. If you want to recommend some for me to try, I'd be honored).

I started the day with the Rainforest Acai Berry (which was a disappointment; it was OK, but it's rooibos tea, which I personally don't like...but of course I didn't read the fine print stating this when I bought it, and I don't want it to go to waste).

I'm now on the chocolate jasmine. So far it's the ONLY tea I think is enhanced by the addition of milk. Man, this stuff's good.

Perhaps next week when I have some time, I'll try to hunt down some others to try.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

So...am I too old for the shoes on the left? Too young for the ones on the right?

I recently bought a pair of Adidas similar to these (canvas, rubber toe cap, no "CAMPUS" on the side, but very similar otherwise). I like them, I wear them, they are actually comfortable, and they happen to look great with jeans or beat-up khakis (which are the only kind of khakis I own...primarily because I don't want to buy new pants).

But am I too old for them?

I personally hate seeing people my age ("my age" is late 40's) wearing clothes that they obviously had a teen-age skateboarder pick out for them and I laugh, thinking "why are they wearing that?!?". (And of course don't forget the mid-40's pizza delivery guy we always get who wears hoodies, tight black (but still sagging) shorts and sockless high-tops...but that's another post in itself.)

But now I'm thinking I'm approaching that age where I can't wear what I used to.

But what can I wear? I own cargo shorts; are they OK? Half my life is spent in t-shirts and shorts; does that meet with public approval? Ironically this is why I miss Eddie Bauer stores: they seemed to specialize in clothes for the 30-50 crowd (which may also be the reason why they aren't around anymore...nobody likes knowingly being targeted by marketers).

When do I stop wearing what I like and start wearing what I should?

When do I place my first order for power-walking shoes? Or shoes with Velcro closures?